Chapter 112 -Let's goooooooo!!!
The psychic classification system is divided into 24 levels, named after the Greek alphabet.
Among them, the Omega (Ω)-class psychics, known as the pinnacle of the new human race, were said to number only five even within the vast territory of Lost City, which boasted a landmass as large as a continent.
They were monsters who solidified their position as the strongest—alongside the seven noble houses that inherited millennia of history, and the nine legends born from an age of chaos.
As for Jin, he'd committed them to memory with a simple mnemonic: 5-Mega, 7-Heirs, 9-Legends.
In his mental encyclopedia, which felt like a collection of legendary Pokémon, the only figure whose identity had been fully unveiled so far was "Gale Anarion."
In other words, just the Sword Saint.
Of course, it was only because Jin hadn't realized it yet.
The Thunder King, Gavellus Zahad, was also smiling somewhere in the back of his mind.
Anyway.
Just a few weeks ago, Jin had witnessed the Sword Saint's power up close.
Perhaps that lingering image of a single swing splitting the sky so vividly remained burned into his memory.
5-Mega, 7-Heirs, 9-Legends.
Thanks to that childish wordplay...
It wasn't hard to grasp how monstrous someone on par with the Sword Saint must be.
Jin thought to himself—
This mission is way bigger than I expected.
"This is practically a government project, isn't it? Are we even supposed to be part of this?"
"Getting cold feet all of a sudden?"
"Why would I? We've got a monster like that on our side."
"Hmph."
The colonel gave a shrug of his shoulders.
Then, with a faint smile, he took a swig straight from the bottle—watching the liquid level drop in one go was practically a spectacle.
At this point, didn't he have a moral obligation to give up on reaching old age?
His face looked like it had beat the clock by twenty years, too.
Guy was high-tech in a different sense.
With that thought, Jin glanced out the transport aircraft's window.
"…"
The aircraft had gained altitude, putting a sea of clouds beneath their feet.
Jin silently watched the whitened world for a while—until a sudden snore pulled his attention away.
His gaze drifted between the colonel, now fast asleep after chugging his drink, and Q, who was tapping away at his touchscreen with an unusually serious expression.
Eventually, it turned toward the person beside him.
"Don't feel the cravings anymore?"
"…Huh?"
Elina blinked at the sudden, out-of-nowhere question—but thankfully, her pause wasn't long.
"…I do. Several times a day."
Jin had cautiously hoped for an answer like It's gotten a lot better, and now once again felt the terrifying grip of addiction.
But Elina didn't bother mentioning any of the side effects she was still experiencing.
She simply reaffirmed her resolve.
"But I'll keep enduring. I don't want to become someone who isn't me anymore."
"Whoa. That's pretty admirable."
Jin gave her a thumbs-up at the surprisingly strong answer, and Elina ducked her head low.
Then, seemingly without warning, she began fidgeting with her fingers—
"So, um… I was thinking, maybe, you know… it's been a while…"
Jin wasn't clueless; he knew exactly what she was trying to say through that awkward behavior.
"Yeah, yeah. I got you."
With a small sigh, he gently took her wrist and lit a flame of radiance.
"Ah."
As her face softened under the soul-warming heat, she looked like a dream—like the kind of beauty fans would pine for even in their sleep.
And yet, Jin—who was right there watching it unfold—was off in another thought entirely.
Isn't this like trying to quit smoking but ending up addicted to nicotine gum instead?
The memory of burning his mana until his face had gone pale came back to him, and his shoulders gave a little shiver.
Whether Elina knew or not, she was already fast asleep.
Guess we'll talk about the drug lord stuff later, Jin thought, shrugging.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, figuring he'd be there by the time he woke up.
[Arriving at destination. Preparing to land.]
Jin opened his eyes to the voice ringing in his ear.
"Pfft."
He swallowed the drool pooling in his mouth and looked out the window—
The once calm sea of clouds was gone, and the ground below was quickly approaching.
Shwoooo---!
Thanks to its four fully rotatable engines and specially designed fixed wings, the VTOL transport aircraft began its vertical descent.
A hiss of decompression followed as the hatch opened.
The colonel, now holding yet another bottle of booze, stepped out first.Q, Elina, and Jin followed one after another, setting foot on the ground.
"Welcome, sir."
Agents snapped sharp salutes toward the colonel.
They were familiar faces—ones Jin had seen back in Mute Town.
Naturally, they recognized him as well.
Quick nods of acknowledgement passed between them.
A spectacled agent, who all but screamed "I'm the brains of the operation," stepped up beside the colonel.
"Status report, sir. Apophis is continuing its northbound course at an altitude of approximately 4,800 meters. No signs of trajectory deviation or speed changes. If it maintains its current pace, it should be observable southwest of the outpost in about 22 hours."
"And the Pilgrim?"
"He said he'll arrive before it's too late. That's all."
"Always doing things his own way."
As the two conversed, Jin looked around at his surroundings.
Out Land
The lands beyond the city zones.
The neglected wastelands of centuries accepted Jin's gaze with their bare, desolate face.
Under the empty sky, dry winds swept across the barren plains—
Nature's indifference stretched unbroken to the horizon.
Jin narrowed his eyes instinctively, then turned back forward.
And there it was.
A forward base—clearly temporary, yet surprisingly well-made for something so makeshift.
"You didn't bring a ton of stuff, right?"
Q glanced back and tossed the question.
Jin gave a nod.
"As you can see."
"Then follow me. There'll be an operation briefing."
"Yeah, got it."
After that short reply, time passed—how long exactly, Jin wasn't sure.
When he came to, he found himself sitting on a foldable steel chair.
Huh?
As the other agents took their seats one by one, Q began the briefing the moment he stood in front of a stark white screen.
"As you all know, our objective is to investigate Apophis."
Immediately, a visualization of data appeared on the screen.
It resembled a mass of millions of pixels melted into a mold—its three-dimensional form looked like an iceberg risen onto land.
That's Apophis?
Jin was quietly impressed by how much more majestic it appeared than he had imagined.
Q's explanation continued.
"During the Era of Light and Roses, it was the final legacy and royal castle of the dwarves. Since it was first observed, it's orbited the continent like a comet every 84 years—for 1,053 years now."
Click.
Q pressed a remote in his hand.
The image of Apophis zoomed in, revealing its surface in greater detail.
Wait, are those… turrets?
Jin involuntarily squinted.
Understandably so—those bleak protrusions aligned along the rugged exterior were unmistakably turrets.
As if determined to allow no blind spots, cannons aimed in every direction, easily over a hundred just in that small section alone.
And that was only the zoomed-in portion.
Looking at the whole of Apophis, it was impossible to guess how many cannons there actually were.
"Apophis's self-defense system is on par with modern weaponry. This is why previous expeditions frequently failed."
Officially, three attempts.
Including unofficial ones, seven.
That was how many times the city government had sent exploration teams, Q added.
Five ended in failure, and two succeeded.
"Apophis will attempt to destroy anything that comes within a 3km radius, so obviously, aerial transport is impossible. One of the only two successful missions did break through with a transport aircraft, but that was because they had a Psi-class psychic with field manipulation abilities. That psychic died 41 years ago, by the way."
Whether meant to lighten the mood or not, a few agents chuckled dryly at Q's final comment.
"So we can't expect any help, huh."
"Exactly. That's why we'll approach using our own method."
Click.
Another press of the remote, and Apophis shrank back down on the screen.
But that wasn't the end.
A holographic aircraft flew over the now-miniaturized Apophis.
Q pointed at it with his fingertip.
"As you can see, we'll fly over Apophis in a transport plane. Once we reach a zone beyond its firing range, we'll perform a drop. Everyone will be wearing wingsuits."
At that moment, the color drained from Jin's face.
A—A drop?
Are you insane?
Next instant, his right hand shot up against gravity, drawing Q's gaze.
"What is it?"
"Question! How high are we dropping from?"
"Roughly 9,000 meters. Though we may increase altitude slightly for safety."
"…Ah."
Jin's head began to spin.
This is crazy.
9,000 meters?
I've never even done bungee jumping.
Well, if you counted the time he'd unwillingly thrown himself off a rooftop chasing a rage-blinded Anna, maybe he wasn't entirely without experience.
That had been the rooftop of some company—Activis, or something.
But that was only about 40 meters.
Not some ridiculous 9,000.
No wonder this mission gave 33,000 experience points.
Jin took a deep breath, then downed a bottle of red pills.
Letting his right arm hang loose, he gestured toward Q as if to say, Go on, keep talking.
"As you'd expect, the moment we enter Apophis's engagement range, we'll be under immediate fire. The Colonel, Elina, and I will provide as much support as possible—but from that point on, your individual abilities will be key."
Q looked around at the agents.
"But there's no need to worry too much. That's why the Pilgrim is coming."
The Pilgrim.
Whether it was a codename or not, it was obvious from context that it referred to the Omega-class psychic.
Jin, too, stopped sighing and raised his head at this.
He listened closely as Q continued.
"He'll suppress Apophis's movements from the ground. We don't know if he can control the full barrage—up to 3,000 cannons—but there's a reason he's considered the government's ultimate weapon. I'd say we can trust him."
Once more, Jin's right hand defied gravity.
"From the ground? He's not dropping with us?"
"He…"
Q hesitated briefly, unsure how to explain.
Seeing this, the Colonel stepped in.
"The Pilgrim only operates on the ground. And even that's often a stretch. Of course, a drop is out of the question. You won't understand what that means now, but by tomorrow, you will."
How could he argue after that?
Jin lowered his hand and simply nodded, accepting it for now.
"Let's continue, then."
With the Colonel's nod, Q pressed the remote again.
From there, the briefing covered why the city government wanted to investigate Apophis, the records left by prior expeditions, and the general outline of the operation.
Jin listened with a rare level of seriousness.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose a hundred battles.
Every now and then, he nodded along—or raised his hand high with another question.
***
The next day.
Something loomed in the southwestern sky above the forward base.
What had started as a tiny dot gradually grew larger over time, until it became clearly visible to all—a colossal fortress drifting across the sky: Apophis.
Its immense size was like a wall slicing through the heavens.
But there was no time to gape.
Fully equipped, the agents of the Special Ops Division lined up in front of the transport aircraft.
About thirty minutes remained before the operation began.
As everyone checked their gear with focused expressions…
A voice broke the silence.
"Pilgrim, arriving!"
In an instant, dozens of eyes snapped toward the source.
The crowd's eyes were all drawn in one direction.
A massive hunk of metal was approaching the forward base.
A coffin?
Jin furrowed his brows.
What the hell is that now?
And it wasn't just any coffin.
That thing—with a cylindrical body and the sculpted face of a woman—was unmistakably an Iron Maiden.
That torture device they used to call the Lady of Iron.
Clack. Clatter—
That object, that relic, was now rolling closer, loaded onto a steel cart, pushed by an android.
"So it's finally here."
The colonel, smirking faintly, was the first to greet the "pilgrim."
A loose salute.
Then, the center of the Iron Maiden split open, the doors sliding wide to both sides.
Inside—where iron spikes should've lined every inch—there was instead a glass capsule filled with a soft bluish liquid.
And within that capsule, a woman lay curled up, completely nude.
Her eyes were closed, as if in a deep sleep.
Her hair was so long it didn't just fall—it cascaded, barely concealing the elegant curves of her form.
The next moment—
The android, who had dragged the coffin like some mechanical mule, opened its mouth and spoke.
"She says you may begin."
Was that the trigger for the operation?
"We move out."
Without delay, the colonel turned on his heel.
All twenty or so agents began boarding the transport ship.
Naturally, Jin was among them.
Inside the now-airborne vessel, engines roaring loud enough to rattle teeth, Jin flexed and unflexed his fingers, clad in a wingsuit.
From doubting the system screen to ending up here—it'd been a ride.
There had to be something behind all this.
Well, if you don't know, then crash into it head-on.
With that, he clenched his fist and refocused his mind—
"Prepare to drop!"
A booming voice rang out as the transport's launch bay doors yawned open.
Wooooooom!!!
The ringing in his ears was one thing, but the sheer height—being eye-level with the clouds—was outright surreal.
Still, Jin only scoffed internally.
Since when had anything been normal?
It was always like this.
At that moment, violet static crackled at the edge of his vision.
"Drop!"
With the colonel's command, Jin launched himself off the edge.
BOOM!
In that instant of acceleration, he shot through the sky like a bullet from a barrel—faster than anyone else—
"Let's goooooooo!!!"
A roar from deep in his gut echoed like thunder at 9,000 meters above the ground.